Method of firing pottery



J. D. MUELLER METHOD OF FIRING POTTERY April 16, 1957 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1952 April 16, 1957 J. D. MUELLER 2,788,561

METHQD OF FIRING POTTERY Filed Oct. 8; 1952 2 Sheets-Shgaet 2 IN V EN TOR.

JOHN DALE MUELLER M aw! ATTORNEY United States Patent METHOD OF FIRING POTTERY John Dale Mueller, Alliance, Ohio Application October 8, 1952, Serial No. 313,656

1 Claim. (Cl. 25-156) This invention relates to pottery with projections having unglazed end surfaces which are usually located on one edge of the pottery piece, and the method of firing pottery supported on such unglazed surfaces.

It is customary to fire pottery while supporting it on its bottom which is unglazed. When placed in the position in which it is designed to be normally placed, this unglazed surface is not exposed and is therefore unobjectionable. However, many articles of pottery cover such a large area and occupy such a large amount of the batt, if fired in this position that kiln room is economized by supporting them on edge while they are fired. For this purpose it is here proposed to provide extra feet on the pottery, called firing feet. If the pottery is intended to be supported on a horizontal surface the bottoms of such feet will generally lie in a substantially horizontal plane; if it is designed to be hung on a wall or suspended from the ceiling the bottoms of the feet may lie in any plane but generally will be in a horizontal plane at the top or bottom of the piece when supported in the position it is designed to be normally supported. The bottoms of these feet are unglazed, but the surrounding surface of the pottery, and preferably all but these bottoms, is glazed. The pottery may be glazed a color which forms a marked contrast with the unglazed surfaces of these feet, and the feet may be shaped so that their outlines give a decorative effect. Although the bottoms of the firing feet of any one piece must all lie in the same plane, unglazed ends of projections which resemble such feet may be used purely for their decorative effect, and these may be located in any position.

The invention has particular value in connection with relatively low articles of large area, whether that large area be intended to lie horizontally (or substantially so) in articles intended to rest on a horizontal surface, or whether that large area be intended to be vertical (or substantially so) in a plaque or the like adapted to be hung on a Wall.

The invention will be further illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a spoon rest, to be placed on a stove to receive the bowl of a spoon or the like which has been used in some foodstuff cooking on the stove, and which is to be used again repeatedly during the cooking of the foodstuff;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the spoon rest and the firing feet;

Fig. 3 shows a plurality of such spoon rests standing on their feet in the firing kiln;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a side view of a rectangular container;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the same;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of an egg tray designed to hold eggs on a stove or kitchen table prior to being broken by the cook;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 shows an ash tray or the like supported on firing feet located on its side; and

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

The spoon rest of Fig. 1 is made of any suitable material. It is shaped in any usual manner. The dished portion 1 is surrounded by the wall 2. The pouring lips 3 and handle 4 are of any usual design. The firing feet 5 protrude outwardly, on the side opposite the handle. The unglazed surfaces 6 are substantially vertical.

The entire surface of the spoon rest is coated with glaze, as by dipping. The glaze is then. wiped from the supporting surfaces 6 of the firing feet 5. It is a characteristic of all such substantially flat pieces of pottery with feet extending from one edge thereof that the bottoms of these feet lie in a single plane and a line passing through the center of gravity of any piece and perpendicular to said plane intersects the plane at the point that lies within an area defined by the outer edges of the unglazed bottoms of these feet. This is true regardless of the number of feet on the piece of pottery.

A plurality of such spoon rests are stood on the batt 10, supported on the surfaces 6 of the firing feet 5. Supported on edge in this manner they occupy much less of the area of the batt 10 than if they were supported on their bottoms. Many more are fired in any given period than if they rested on their bottoms. Marked economy results.

The firing feet 20 of the box 21 of Figs. 5 and 6 are shaped to illustrate a horse and carriage. These outlines are merely illustrative, as any outlines may be used. The box may be of any size and shape. With a box of the dimensions shown there is little economy of space in firing the boxes on their edges rather than on their bottoms. The invention has value as a :new method of producing decorative effects even though the articles glazed occupy more room when placed on their firing feet than when supported in their normal positions. In such instances, as in Figs. 5 and 6, the invention makes possible a pleasing decorative effect at minimum expense. The stippled surface represents a glaze of a color which contrasts with the white or other color of the unglazed surfaces 20. This is a very simple and inexpensive method of producing very pleasing decorative effects. The number, shape and location of the projections with unglazed end surfaces (whether or not they are used as firing feet) may be varied as desired. Glazes of different color may be used.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate an egg tray designed to be stored by hanging on a wall. For this purpose holes 30 are provided in the wall 31. The trays may be turned sideways (in either direction) and hung on a single nail. Alternatively a ribbon or the like can be threaded through the holes and be used to hang the tray vertically. The back surface 32 will then hang against the wall.

The surfaces of the firing feet 33 are horizontal, and support the tray vertically in the kiln. Generally, firing feet on an object which is to be hung against the wall will be located symmetrically, as the feet 33 are located symmetrically with respect to the center line of the tray.

In the ash tray or bone plate or the like illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, the firing feet 40 are spaced quite a distance from one another. It might be said that they are not even located on the same surface. When positioned on its firing feet on the batt used for firing, each of the articles illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 occupies only about one eighth of the area it occupies when resting on its bottom. The cost of firing is thus reduced very appreciably.

If the pottery is designed with projections the unglazed ends of which are not used as firing feet, the glaze may be applied to all surfaces but these projection ends, or

the projection ends may also be covered with glaze which is subsequently removed before firing. After glazing, these unglazed ends will afford a pleasing contrast with the glazed areas. v

- The drawings'are illustrative of the many possible applications of projections with nnglazed end surfaces whether used for firing feet or merely for decorative purposes.

- Whatl claim is:

'- In the art of firing a fiat piece of pottery which is 10 of the piece which are capable of supporting the piece 15 in a vertical position, and then with glaze covering the piece except on the bottoms of said feet firing it in an oven in the vertical position, whereby the piece is completely glazedexcept on the bottoms of said feet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 225,492 Scott Mar. 16, 1880 783,948 Haney Feb. 28, 1905 1,238,092 Blass Aug. 28, 1917 1,814,870 .Tycer July 14, 1931 1,879,808 Ladd Sept. 27, 1932 2,574,878 Liversage Nov. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,325 Great Britain June 20, 1913 728,072 France Apr. 5, 1932 425,737 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1935 

